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Two Maya Ceramic Texts

During the summer of 2010, I had the good fortune to accompany three Nicaraguan colleagues, Edgar Espinoza Pérez, Ramiro García Vázquez, and Sandra Espinoza Vallejos, to several museums in Honduras and El Salvador as part of a comparative study of ceramics we had previously excavated in the Department of Chinandega, Nicaragua. The photographs below were taken in the National Museum of El Salvador, El Museo Nacional de Antropologia David J. Guzman. I want to sincerely thank not only my Nicaraguan colleagues, but in particular the members of the Museum staff and the Department of Patrimonio who provided access to their magnificent collections. They were extremely hospitable and gracious, and helped in a multitude of ways. I cannot find or remember the name of every person who helped us, but I thank you all, especially, Shione Shibata, Fabricio Valdivieso, Michelle Toledo, and Jorge Neftali Rubio Llanes. _________________________________________________________________________________Vessel A1-70. This vessel is from Tazumal, Estructura 1C, Tumba 1, excavated in 1943, probably by Stanley Boggs.

The pot is slipped and carefully polished. The red band painted on the rim has mostly flaked off. The text is unusually large, bold, and clear. I have posted three series of photos, one more distant and two sets of close-ups, one taken with the flash and the other without.

I unfortunately failed to record a provenience for this second vessel. My notes do say, "Maybe Chiquihuat Group/Chingo Plano-Relief." Given my limited knowledge of Salvadoran ceramics, I am unlikely to have classified the vessel correctly.